The Queen of Hearts' Tarts

Um, hi neighbor.

2009-02-25T09:51:00.000-08:00

I work on the second floor of a fairly large office. There are probably hundreds of people in the building, of which I know very few. I've had occasional moments of friendliness which have led me to meet a few people on the 5th floor. I was proud of that fact until it dawned on me that I have never met the person whose office is next door to mine. This week marks the one year since I started working here, and this morning, it struck me that one way I might be giving up joy in my life is by isolating myself and not bothering to get to know people. So, on my way back from the kitchen where I was getting my morning yerba mate, I uncomfortably poked my head into her office and said "Hello. I'm your neighbor. I've been working here a year now, and it seems a little crazy to me that we've never met." She laughed and agreed. We chatted for a few minutes and she thanked me for stopping in. It really wasn't so hard to do and I'm feeling emboldened. Next step, the other hundred or so people who work on this floor... I wonder where else I'm doing this in my life? I have started saying hello to people in elevators, particularly in my apartment building, but I know very few of my neighbors there. Time to take a closer look.

The New Lost Season 4 Trailer

2007-12-22T18:05:00.000-08:00

It's ba-aaaack... finally. In 5 short weeks I can resume my obsession with Lost. In the meantime, there's this trailer to tide us all over:

Ghostland Observatory Concert Review - Henry Fonda in Los Angeles, CA

2007-12-03T14:52:00.001-08:00

If Orbital reunited and joined forces with Daft Punk, the Chemical Brothers and the White Stripes, then were fronted by that crazy homeless guy that aggressively shouts obscenities as you at the corner of Hollywood and Highland, they'd be pretty darn close to what I saw this past Friday night at the Henry Fonda. A friend emailed a few of us insisting that we check out the two man outfit, Ghostland Observatory, and that we watch this video. I was skeptical, but adequately intrigued by the video, so I convinced 3 girl friends to cough up the $32 ($18 + absurd Ticketmaster fees) and off we went. The band is comprised of the aforementioned front man and his keyboardist/drummer/programmer who is always cloaked in a dramatic, floor length silver cape. We were instantly hooked - the show was original, energetic, and very dance-able. The crowd was going nuts the whole time even though the band was debuting new material that no one knew - they actually played their most well known song, "Sad Sad City," two songs into the show. The light show was fantastic, similar to one you'd expect to see only in a massive dance club. The new material sounded great and I'm looking forward to hearing the album when it comes out in March, though I suspect this is an act that needs to be seen live. I will certainly be seeing Ghostland Observatory again at the earliest opportunity.

Going scuba diving in Belize

2007-11-26T18:09:00.000-08:00

Former boyfriend (more or less current boyfriend at this point) and I are headed to Belize over the holidays for another adventure vacation. We are trying to recreate the type of experience we had in Kauai - getting up at the crack of dawn, being active all day doing things we can't do here, making our own breakfast and lunch so we don't feel stuffed to the neck, and crashing early without feeling the need to spend the evening drinking.

We were happy to have found accommodations that are reminiscent of our fantastic stay at the Hideaway Cove. The name even has "cove" in it again: Parrot Cove Lodge, and the TripAdvisor reviews are equally positive. I found us an overpriced flight on trusty American Airlines (I needed one more flight to keep my prized Platinum status) which entails ringing in the new year at 35,000 feet en route home. I decided to use a few miles to upgrade us to first class on that leg since we're going 3 hours out of our way and flying through Miami, plus we're celebrating a holiday so we need access to free champagne. I'm actually looking forward to that - we may even see fireworks all across the country as we see the clock strike midnight several times throughout our journey.

The reason we decided to go to Belize is that a friend suggested that we might enjoy Scuba diving there. We are such fanatics of seeing aquatic life and wildlife in general that we decided to give it a shot. This week and next week we will be spending 5 different days in class getting Scuba/PADI certified at Haven's Reef. This entails one day of indoor class, one day of class in a pool, and one weekend in Catalina island doing six open water dives. We started watching the instructional videos and realized just how complex Scuba diving really is. There is so much to keep track of and adjust - air supply, flotation, air pressure - I'm just glad we're doing so many practice dives in class so we have a shot of enjoying the fish when we do it in Belize!

Other planned activities include visiting Mayan ruins, hiking, and deep sea fishing. I'm very excited for all of this and looking forward to another great getaway!

How to mockup a website if you're not a designer

2007-11-21T15:28:00.000-08:00

I spent eons searching for an answer to this question and finally a friend tipped me off to the best way to mockup a web page without using a heavy design program like Illustrator, Photoshop or Fireworks (or even the old fashioned pen and paper method). First, the SnagIt extension for Firefox is an easy way to capture bits and pieces of other sites you wish to emulate or show the designer. Next, these can be very easily pasted into good 'ole Powerpoint, which is an easy way to organize multiple screens. Powerpoint allows you to insert all sorts of useful shapes and buttons, as well as text boxes which can be used to annotate. So far this system seems to be working well. Hopefully this blog post can save someone else the time it took me to figure it out!

Thank goodness for the RIAA

2007-10-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

It's stories like this that make me extra glad that I'm no longer associated with the record business. I hope they can sleep at night after making a single mother pay in excess of $200,000 for sharing 24 songs via Kazaa.

Because I really needed to get addicted to another tv show

2007-09-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Why did I make the mistake of renting Season 1 of Heroes from Netflix? Actually I rented the first 5 discs from Netflix, then got impatient and bought the last 5 episodes from iTunes. It took me about 12 days to get through 18 hours of this show and starting Monday it will be back on the air. The show is consistently fantastic, though the season finale felt a bit anticlimactic - now I know why the buzz was that Heroes should have taken a page from Lost's book on that front. I think I'm now trying to follow something ridiculous like 10 shows this fall, which will be fine until I start working full force again starting mid October, and then I start falling way behind. I guess I should enjoy it why it lasts!

Adventures in air travel

2007-09-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

I went to San Francisco for the weekend to celebrate my friend's birthday and had unusual experiences flying there and back.

On the way there I was walking up to the security line escalator and a couple of people with "crew" badges said to me, "don't look at the camera, just keep walking straight". The next thing I knew someone yelled "action" and a bunch of actresses and actors dressed as flight attendants were walking next to me. I looked around at the lighting, cameras and white screens surrounding me and realized I was on set of some massive production (which someone later told me was a TV ad). It was very sneaky of them to use me as a cheap extra, plus I have no idea how they were allowed to film in the main American Airlines terminal of LAX on a Friday afternoon. If anyone spots me in a commercial, let me know!

Then, on the way home I got to the San Francisco airport at 1 pm, checked in, walked up to my gate, and found out that my flight to LA (as well as almost all others that day) was cancelled. Having learned my lesson from past experiences I phoned the AAdvantage Platinum desk (it pays to have status!) and asked for another flight. The earliest they had room on was in 7 hours so I strongly insisted they look on another airline. They found me a flight departing 3 hours later on United, so I checked in and stood by on an earlier flight, then lucked out and caught a standby seat on an even earlier flight that had been delayed an hour, getting me into LA about 10 minutes later than I would have on my original flight. Much better than waiting 8 hours at the airport! I was proud of my airline maneuvering skills.

I have interesting things to say, I swear

2007-09-05T17:16:00.000-07:00

I feel as though I haven't been able to post anything really juicy that's been going on with me for fear that the wrong person might come across it, which is kindof ridiculous seeing as though the blog gets 3-10 visits per day. But I live in perpetual worry that I'll piss someone off or lose an opportunity by yapping about it in public. I know I could make the blog private but am concerned that people would find it annoying to have to log in on the time. Then again I think most of my readers (i.e. the two of you?) are on Blogger anyways. What to do?

Weddings are fun... really

2007-09-03T00:17:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Courtney's lovely wedding in sunny Edmonton, Alberta (our first time there) . Recently, I've had the revelation that I love going to weddings. I feel like a lot of people complain about them, and those people probably have about 30 times as many friends as I do that invite them to their weddings, but I think I have the perfect amount because I've been really happy to go to all the ones I've been invited to. I only declined one invitation when I first moved to New York, and to this day I feel guilty about it, but really, this wedding was in Fayetteville, Arkansas and I pretty much only knew the bride, so the whole ordeal might have been a bit awkward, particularly since I was too young to rent a car. I find that living in LA most weddings I'm going to require extensive travel but I don't mind, especially when I get to bring a guest to explore the city with. That said I am definitely looking forward to the next wedding on the calendar that is located about 5 minutes from where I live!

My Trader Joe's Top 5

2007-08-27T00:21:00.000-07:00

Since I keep having to repeat this list to everyone who asks me (and by "asks me" I do mean "mentions anything related to food and is promptly interrupted by me in an evangelical fashion with this unsolicited list") I figured I'd post it here. If you're not familiar with the ultra affordable, creative, friendly and healthy Trader Joe's, consider yourself deprived and find one to shop at as soon as possible. If you don't have one near you, please feel free to live vicariously through me.

1. Peanut Butter from Unblanched Peanuts (Creamy): I used to avoid all natural peanut butters but this is hands-down the best peanut butter I have ever eaten. It's so good it makes the inside of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup taste bland. It's so good it's as though Skippy tastes like a synthetic, sugary paste. Best eaten straight out of the jar with a spoon, it is also delicious as a condiment or in baking. Surprisingly the ingredients are: Peanuts, Salt.

2. Dark Chocolate Truffles: These amazing truffles come in a box of around 25 and cost something like $3.99. On top of that they are as good if not better than any truffles I've eaten, including those that curiously cost over $5 a piece. I only buy these for parties because I shudder to think what might happen if there was a box in my home.

3. Trader Giotto's 3-Cheese Pasta Sauce: I don't know what this low cal, low fat, low sugar sauce has in it that makes it taste extremely rich and tastes great with everything (well, almost everything - maybe not the truffles. Or the peanut butter. Though I wouldn't put it past me to try that sometime since I am the person who used to dip McDonalds chocolate chip cookies into the McNugget hot mustard sauce as a kid - and by kid I do mean until age 28) but I go through several jars each month.

4. Nutty American Trek Mix: A new addition to my favorites this trail mix has the perfect proportions of cashews, almonds, peanuts, raisins and semi sweet chocolate chunks, all very lightly salted. I've been making up all sorts of excuses to keep munching on it, and I can definitely see myself going on gratuitous hikes just to justify eating more.

5. Soy and Flaxseed Tortilla Chips: These are high protein, high fiber, low cal and low fat yet they rival any tortilla chip I've ever had. I've never seen anything like them anywhere else. Extra points for originality!

Ok, I'm a little obsessed with this place but it makes food shopping fun, particularly the part when they tell you what your total is (after you've somehow managed to fill up a cart even though you came in for a tomato) and it's always surprisingly low.

If any Canadians reading this post are salivating over any particular item on this list please let me know and I'll bring samples next time I'm up north!

Paso Robles

2007-08-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to Paso Robles to hit up a few wineries and hike in a new setting. The vineyards are beautiful with very unique tasting rooms and we enjoyed them thoroughly. We visited Turley, Tablas Creek, Justin and Wild Coyote. After the day of wine tasting we had dinner at an excellent wine-country style restaurant, Artisan, and then turned in at 9 pm. I think deep down we both want to be retirees! The next morning's hike to Valencia Peak in Morro Bay was amazing. We saw lizards and butterflies and the water was so clear that we could see through to the ocean floor from the top of the mountain. On the way there and back we stopped in nearby San Luis Obispo to go to Ben Franklin's for what I am convinced is the best chocolate chip cookie ever made. I know it's a bold statement, but it's how I feel. It was the perfect level of chewiness, with more melty chocolate chips than The Decadent. All in all the trip was a big success and what makes it truly special is that I didn't plan any of it, it was all done for me by my lovely boyfriend and new favorite travel partner! Check out all of the pictures here.

Foux Da Fa Fa

2007-08-17T16:05:00.001-07:00

If you haven't had the pleasure of watching Flight of the Conchords on HBO (or even if you have) check out this video immediately. The premise of the show is that two slightly daft musicians New Zealanders come to New York to make it in a band. The show has ridiculous musical interludes throughout, each parodying a different style of music. This one targets the French.

LOST Season Four Preview - The Orchid Orientation Film clip

2007-08-15T15:04:00.001-07:00

Finally, something to tide us Lost fans over 'till February...

Change of heart

2007-08-15T00:00:00.001-07:00

Why is it that I suddenly don't want to live in my apartment or neighborhood anymore? For the past 3.5 years I've loved it to the point of evangelically telling everyone I knew about how great it was. And then I went to Kauai, saw a place that actually seemed nicer than LA, which I previously thought impossible, and now I feel differently (the grass really is greener there...) It's hard to tell if I'm just ready for a change of pace, moving from my compact, urban existence to something more spacious, community focused and rural... like with trees that have leaves and stuff, not just dusty brown sticks with cobweb remnants and the odd cactus. Maybe I wouldn't feel this way if it would actually rain here for once - it basically hasn't for 2 years - so that things could look a little less desert like and a bit more like the paradise I originally moved to. Hopefully it's not just wanderlust because I can't deal with the idea of uprooting myself again for a little while.

Top That!

2007-08-14T18:33:00.001-07:00

This is by far my favorite musical interlude from an 80's movie.

Machinima

2007-08-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

I recently learned about Machinima, the practice of creating videos within the setting of a video game, using only the characters and settings offered within. I cannot even imagine how difficult it must have been to create this video considering each player had to synchronize each movement. Check it out!

Harry Potter and the Big Funnel

2007-08-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Apparently there have been entirely original Harry Potter knockoff novels written in in China with fantastic names such as “Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Relative Prince,” “Harry Potter and the Hiking Dragon,” “Harry Potter and the Chinese Empire,” “Harry Potter and the Young Heroes,” and “Harry Potter and Leopard-Walk-Up-to-Dragon." Check out the full story here.

Back from Roosterville

2007-07-31T22:09:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic time in Kauai, HI. View the pictures here.

- Our hotel room/condo at the Hideaway Cove was amazing! It must be one of the best places to stay in Kauai. We loved the location, the landscaping, the furnishings, the kitchen, the bathroom, the decor, and most of all the helpful and attentive staff, Dianne and Susie, who were always available to make sure we knew the best places to go and things to do. It was so great to be able to make our own breakfast and lunch to avoid that icky feeling one gets from eating out for 3 meals a day. The snorkel gear they rented to us was very high tech and prevented us from inhaling the usual several gallons of salt water.

- The Kauai Hyatt is a stunning resort. While we wouldn't have wanted to stay there longer than a couple of nights since it's very touristy, the grounds were breathtaking and it had by far the coolest pool I've ever seen. They greeted us with beautiful leis made of real flowers and kukui nut necklaces which I made the man wear long enough to get a picture. There were parrots, doves, art galleries and gorgeous gardens inside the main lobby. The poolside par served the most amazing, decadent blended drinks like bananas with raspberries, chocolate and macadamia nuts.

- Snorkeling at secluded Tunnels Beach on the North Shore was incredible. There was a huge reef very close to shore which meant we could just swim out a few feet and start seeing the beautiful fish. The scenery was truly picturesque and the neatest looking birds kept coming up to us when we were sitting on the beach. At one point two boys went out with harpoon guns which made us a touch nervous but fortunately they didn't hurt anyone.

- We went on two kayak/hike tours. One was with Outfitters Kauai and took us through the Wailua river up to a beautiful waterfall where we had lunch and went swimming. The other was with Princeville Ranch Adventures which took us down a stream with a thick tree canopy, then on a short hike to ziplines which we crossed twice, then ended at another waterfall. We were fascinated by the Walking tree, called the Hula tree, since it gradually makes its way toward water over the course of its lifetime.

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- We also took a sunset catamaran dinner cruise (with Blue Dolphin Tours) around the island to see the Na'pali coast, which is very inaccessible, and saw dolphins, sea turtles, and a mountain goat. They told us to take Dramamine beforehand, which we did reluctantly since I didn't think we'd get motion sickness, but we were very glad that we did because the ride was incredibly bumpy! The scenery was awesome and we saw the biggest, fullest rainbow we've ever seen. At one point the crew started to play "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic and encouraged everyone to take pictures at the part of the boat the juts out into the water (think "I'm King of the world!!!"). While we thought that was really cheesy we still went ahead and got a picture.

- I don't think pictures can do Waimea Canyon justice. I could easily spend a week just hiking there!

- On our last night we stumbled upon fantastic, fresh Italian food at a hidden gem of a restaurant called Pomodoro.

- You'd think that at least one of the travel guides on Kauai would mention the fact that the island is overrun by a tropical blend of wild rooster birds. I call them rooster birds because these chickens are disproportionately male, seem to have bred with other tropical fowl, are Technicolor, can be found perched in trees, and sound their cock-a-doodle-doos alllllll day long starting at around 4:00 am. We snapped photos of some in a tree next to where we were eating dinner at the Waimea Brewing Company (along with a couple of kitties) and at the side of the road on our way to Waimea canyon.

- Another Kauai mystery is their strange taste in desserts, starting with the prevalence of bizarrely flavored sawdust discs manufactured by the Kauai Kookie Company. It seemed as though everyone wanted to feed these to us despite their obvious lack of flavor (i.e. chocolate). They love their Lappert's ice cream which we found to be so-so (though I'm not sure if I'm a credible source given that I love Baskin Robbins!) and a huge thing over there is shave ice over a scoop of vanilla or chocolate ice cream, which is actually quite tasty.

The trip was a huge success and I'd recommend Kauai to anyone looking to getaway to a beautiful and quiet place.

My Daft Punk concert review

2007-07-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

I feel the need to append to the post so that it actually provides some useful information for those considering going to see Daft Punk live, since I have had the honor, as opposed to my whining about how I missed their most recent LA show. Because, when I actually did see them live at Coachella 2006, it was rather impressive, so I would highly recommend shelling out whatever ridiculous ticket price they are charging to make sure you've had the experience at least once. Granted, we'll never know if it's really them in those robot costumes, or if they're laughing their way to the bank while sipping Merlot on the French Riviera as some hired guns pose in their place, but the show is positively electrifying and draws a fantastic, energetic crowd. My only caveat is that reports from people who have seen them twice suggest that the show doesn't vary too much from one to the next, so you may want to reconsider parting with $50-75 a second time round. They are certainly up there with similar acts like the Chemical Brothers, and my enjoyment of the show was comparable to when I saw Orbital, Underworld, Faithless, Moby and other seminal dance acts, though I still maintain that nothing is better than Orbital live. Continue reading if you want to learn about how taramosalata really doesn't keep well in the fridge beyond a day or two.

***
Well, I have to say, the Daft Punk concert did not turn out so well for me. While they rocked the LA Sports Arena I was at home, in bed, writhing around in agony with my first ever case of food poisoning (earlier this month I was treated to my first ever migraine... some month!) My friends managed to sell my ticket and had a great time in my absence, but then this morning pretended that the show was actually substandard and that they missed me the entire time. I knew they were lying, but I didn't mind.

Since early yesterday afternoon I've been subsisting on the occasional saltine, a banana that took all day to eat, a few bites of chicken soup, and some diluted apple juice. At this point I think the queasiness is a direct result of starvation, but the thought of eating makes me cringe. And I love food and am pretty much always hungry so this is an unusual feeling for me. At least I may look a tad better in a bikini when I'm on vacation. Or once I get my appetite back maybe I can gleefully gain back any lost weight by eating dessert with every meal (including breakfast) and a lot of chips, or any other foods I normally don't eat much of.

Cars are expensive

2007-07-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

I took my car in for an oil/filter change today. I went to the dealer because that's where I'd always gone while the warranty was still in effect since they would often find and repair things for free. This was my first visit since then, and it didn't occur to me to seek out a less expensive option. After hearing that this particular oil change was going to be 4 times as expensive as the others because they were rotating my tires, I left with the gas-guzzling mystery make loaner car they gave me and returned to work. They called me a few hours later to tell me about 'a few other things' that were wrong with the car. After rattling off a lot of terms I'd never heard of before (serpentine pulley anyone? how about a breather hose kit?) they informed me that the total charge would be $1200. When I brought the car in everything was fine, except the knob that controls the temperature had snapped off - I'd called before and they quoted me $10 to fix it. $10 somehow turned into $375 and they managed to find 3 other things that needed to be done. Last time I was there I got out for under $50!

My coworker suggested I look for Saab mechanics in the area so I found one online that looked reputable and requested a quote. He came back with prices that ranged from 10-70% of what the dealer was charging, including a $35 fee for fixing the knob. Had I gone to him for everything I could have spent one third of what I would otherwise have forked out and saved around $800. Fortunately I only allowed the dealer to perform the absolutely essential (still questionable) tasks and I can still go to this guy for some of the more expensive items. Allegedly if one plans to eventually resell a luxury car there is supposed to be some value in having the dealer perform maintenance, but I can't imagine that it would make that big of a difference. I don't like knowing so little about this thing in my life that costs me so much money, so I think my boyfriend and I are going to take an auto-mechanic 101 class at some point to feel less in the dark. For now I am just going to try to not think too hard about how much cash this oil change has wound up costing!

And I thought I was a frequent flyer...

2007-07-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

Today I came across this article on mileage runners, described by Wired as "a subculture of airline hackers who specialize in accumulating frequent flyer miles at low cost." Apparently they congregate on FlyerTalk to trade tips and information on how to accomplish their goals, as well as Trip Planner, where they can purchase rock bottom fares. I am on my way to check these sites out, hopefully to find affordable round trip airfare for two to Edmonton. To anyone who thought I was obsessed with frequent flyer programs, you ain't seen nothing yet!

I am the electronics fairy

2007-07-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks I've given away two cell phones, a tv, a stereo, my tivo box and an unused pair of headphones that double as earmuffs. Usually I ebay my electronics but some of this stuff was questionably functional - the tv had 5+ neon spots on the screen and a DVD player nearly as loud as a blender, the Treo froze constantly and frustrated me to the point of getting a Blackberry, the stereo was over 10 years old with a broken 3-disc changer (but working dual tape deck!), the tivo frequently recorded the wrong channel, and I don't really need earmuffs in this heat. The recipients were all thrilled, however - the tv went to the delivery people that brought the new one, the stereo to a college student from Craigslist looking to hook up an external source, the tivo box to a friend who is using an alternate setup which will most likely fix the channel issue, the Treo and cellphone to a Verizon-run recycling and charity program, and the headphone/earmuffs to a friend who was moving to Boston. I guess one woman's junk really is another person's treasure!

Counting down the days until Kauai and cracking the Hotwire code

2007-07-08T00:13:00.000-07:00

So it turns out that all of my time and effort has paid off and I should be on the beach in Kauai, Hawaii in a couple of weeks. My superstar travel agent scored us deeply discounted tickets for direct flights on my airline of choice and managed to book us the emergency exit row seats up front. At the same time I found a magical 5 night vacancy at a reasonably priced, small inn that had received glowing reviews everywhere I looked. We found discount codes online to rent a convertible for the week, and when we went to find a hotel for the last 2 nights we hit the jackpot on Hotwire. My friend had advised me that the Hyatt was the only resort worth staying at in Kauai, and when we searched Hotwire for available rooms, a 5 star resort came up in the results. There are several big hotels on the island, so we weren't sure if we should roll the dice (Hotwire doesn't let you know the name of your hotel until you've already paid). Then I noticed the TripAdvisor rating and review count at the bottom of the description page. We loaded up the TripAdvisor page for the property, and sure enough, both numbers matched up. We went back to Hotwire, pulled the trigger, and voila - we scored a completely unaffordable luxury resort room at a price we were happy with. The staff at the first hotel have booked all sorts of outings for us - snorkeling, hiking to waterfalls, ziplines, sea kayaking, cruise, etc so it should be a great mix of relaxation and fun. I'm really looking forward to it - fingers crossed that nothing comes up in the next couple of weeks cause this trip is non refundable!

Justice has been served!

2007-07-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

The defendant: Not guilty

"The people's" prosecution lawyer: Guilty of being outrageously long winded despite having no evidence, boring us to death, and wasting our time and taxpayer's money by keeping us in trial for a full week over a neighborly dispute about a broken car window.

The real justice: At 4:07 today the jury went into the deliberation room and emerged 12 minutes later to deliver the fastest verdict on record at the Hollywood Courthouse - one minute before closing time - besting the previous record by 50 minutes, despite the Bailiff's recommendation that we go home and begin at 9:00 am on Monday (one fantastically brave juror spoke up and insisted that we be allowed to use the 15 minutes). She had barely just brought the evidence to us and the judge hadn't even finished typing up the instructions he'd just read when we informed her that we were ready to go back to the courtroom and wrap up this trial. Only one juror had any questions about which way to vote on one of the four charges and we successfully peer-pressured her into folding quickly so we could finally leave this inane case behind us. The main topic of our deliberation was how something this trite lacking any evidence whatsoever got to court in the first place.

Gotta love America!

Jury duty: How I went from from proud and patriotic to cynical and pissed off in 8 days

2007-07-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I'm still on jury duty. For the world's most boring. case. ever. While I still can't talk about the specifics of the case I can tell you that I hate everyone involved in it. I hate the lawyers for asking so many questions and one in particular for being redundant and totally incompetent. I hate the judge for allowing this stupid case to get to court. I hate the defendant and the alleged victim for making a minor skirmish into an 8+ day trial. I hate the courthouse for only letting the trial run for a few hours a day with far too many breaks, dragging it out indefinitely. I don't hate any of my fellow jurors yet but that could change if we have a long deliberation. Since I hate everyone equally I feel totally impartial and able to make a fair decision on the case, but I will do everything I possibly can in my power to avoid serving jury duty ever again after this experience. I feel like I'm the one serving time for a very minor crime someone may or may not have committed - where's the justice in that?

Phone jacks anyone?

2007-07-05T22:16:00.001-07:00

On and off over the past 3+ years I've noticed a few handmade posters scattered around my neighborhood with large block letters that say "Phone Jacks" followed by a phone number. I always thought it was odd - who needs phone jacks? - and that it must be a front for something deviant, but never called. Finally, after seeing another one the other day I did a Google search and found this article by a blogger who shares my suspicions (but worded them more eloquently.) My boyfriend Googled the number last night and said that the listing gave a strange name and a zip code. We're working up the nerve to call. None of my friends have noticed the posters and I haven't dug up any additional articles or posts about it, but perhaps someone will see them and come across this page with their own theories!

I need a vacation from planning my vacation

2007-07-05T22:01:00.001-07:00

Maybe if I weren't so picky planning a trip wouldn't take me several frustrating days of poring over guide books, online recommendations and TripAdvisor reviews. But having traveled extensively over the past 2 years I know all too well the consequences of not carefully considering the choice of airline (it really pays to be loyal), flight times (avoid connections at all costs this summer), hotel (say yes to a/c and no to spiders) and parts of town (far, far away from the riff-raff and masses of tourists). Because I knew I had jury duty I didn't plan anything in advance, yet feel the need to take a vacation right now I'm also battling inflated last minute airfares and scarce hotel availability. I think I may bite the bullet and pay a fortune for a flight on a reliable airline where I have status and we'll get the roomy exit rows with minimal connections since the increasingly frequent horror stories of people getting stranded for days at a time don't exactly foreshadow a relaxing vacation. This will enable us to get the last minute rate on the affordable hotel so I think it all evens out. I look forward to a time in my life where I can actually plan more than 2 weeks in advance and don't feel like I'm scrambling!

Dreaming of eating random things

2007-07-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been noticing an odd trend with my dreams. They've become more vivid and often involve overly indulgent eating. On several occasions I've woken up elated to discover that I did not in fact eat an entire bowl of icing or 10 pieces of birthday cake, despite it being a very pleasant experience to dream about. The other night I awoke with a strange taste in my mouth and the memory of having eaten one copy each of the most recent Good Charlotte and hellogoodbye cds (I have never heard the former and I work with the latter). It's not as though I don't eat a lot during the day or never indulge in sweets so I have no idea what's causing this recurrent theme! I bought a large container of mint chocolate chip ice cream to be safe though, just in case I was really depriving myself. All in the name of dream therapy...

Music Videos - Interpol vs. The Matches

2007-06-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

Interpol has a creepy new slow motion video for "The Heinrich Maneuver" and I can't decide if I love it or hate it, though it's certainly different. But speaking of videos that are different, I absolutely love this new video for "Salty Eyes" by the Matches, who choreographed the entire video themselves and arranged to have all of the TVs donated, and most impressively, shot it all in one take... an amazing homage to Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." Check it out, because it's a fantastic video even if you're not into the music.

Jury Duty, continued indefinitely (well at least through next week)

2007-06-29T16:33:00.001-07:00

Just call me Juror #12! Somehow I knew I was going to get picked this time. It seemed karmically unavoidable, considering that the last time I narrowly escaped being selected for a 6 week gang murder trial. That time I was literally one of 2 out of 80 people not called to interview with the judge and the attorneys, the first subjective part of the selection process. Both times I watched carefully as people gave various excuses of why they couldn't serve, each with an escalating level of absurdity. Very few tactics work reliably - a select few can prove that they don't have an adequate grasp of the English language, to which some judges sympathize and others chastise. People who are very close to law enforcement officers or who have extensive experience working in law are sometimes be dismissed, though that was not the case this time. Occasionally those who have had experiences similar to the defendant or alleged victim will be let go. Only those who resort to genuinely disruptive, desperate, and otherwise embarrassing measures can count on a release.

One gentleman arrived huffily with his file box and tape recorder, making it clear to those around him that he was far too busy to spare any of his time on such nonsense. When asked if he had any reservations about serving as a juror he came up with a litany of responses, all designed to make him look more ignorant, pig headed and unpleasant than the last. A collective "oooooh" spread through the room when he called the judge 'arrogant' and the prosecution lawyer 'lousy'. I exchanged many knowing and shocked looks with the young man seated next to me and we briefly discussed how we resented that this man was dragging the process out for the rest of us. When my seat neighbor was called to the stand, however, he changed into the very desperate character he was mocking, and made claims that implied he was too bigoted to serve. Personally, I would rather serve on any jury before I stood before a large group of people and tried to convince a judge that I was so racist that I couldn't possibly make a fair judgment on a case - that I would rather send an innocent person to jail than look beyond prejudices.

Many times I've contemplated whether or not I would resort to any tactics to avoid serving on a jury but after watching this process I realized that I would be doing a great disservice to the justice system by acting this way. If I was the defendant or the victim I would want a fair trial, and that would not likely come from a jury full of retirees and unmotivated, unemployed people. My employer pays for 10 days of service and this trial should only last 5-7, so I decided to answer the questions fairly and honestly, which led to my selection. Fortunately my case is at the local courthouse which means that I can easily go home for lunch and avoid rush hour traffic, and the hours are easy since we start at 11, get 2 hours for lunch, and end at 4:30 sharp. Hopefully it will be an interesting learning experience, and once the case is over, excellent blog fodder. It's hard to believe that we'll be making a decision that could seriously impact someone's life, their family members' lives, etc. It's no Paris Hilton trial and I won't be getting a million dollar book deal, but I feel like I'm doing something good in supporting a justice system that strives to give fair judgement.

Unfinished creative endeavors

2007-06-26T22:06:00.001-07:00

Around my apartment I have:

- 1 unfinished and fairly complex king sized afghan (about 1/5 complete)
- 3 half finished paintings
- 1 unfinished sewing project (following months of lessons)
- 20+ half finished songs
- 1 partially built home studio to finish the songs
- 2 partial outlines for business plans
- 2 partial outlines for movie scripts
- 25 12" records to help me learn to dj but no turntables
- A giant bag full of craft supplies and odds'n'ends and 0 craft projects
- A giant box full of scrapbooking fodder
- 7 partially read books, including a book about how to get creative projects back on track

Facebook

2007-06-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

Every since I first logged onto Facebook a few months ago I've been trying to convince my American friends that it's clearly the next big thing, and in my view, the Myspace killer everyone has been predicting. I based this on the fact that all of my Canadian friends appeared to have signed up in a one month timespan, and more importantly, because Facebook was fostering the creation of external apps. This blog/article put it more clearly - Facebook is a disruptive technology (as described in The Innovator's Dilemma, one of the only things I remember from business school) that is going to alter the way we communicate and do business. Myspace, which has failed to innovate at an equal pace or in the right direction, does not have the potential to be taken seriously as a business tool. Between apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Secondlife, the same senses are tingling now that did when I first logged onto a BBS in 1992... something really big is happening.

I live in the desert

2007-06-25T15:50:00.001-07:00

It barely rained here this winter/spring, and it never rains during the summer, which means that this place is going to stay dry as a bone for another 6 months. As much as I hate rain, it's getting a bit dusty and brown, plus there are severe wildfires breaking out all over the place (my favorite trail was consumed by one a few months ago). I went on two hikes to "waterfalls" this weekend and they both turned out to be unimpressive drizzles of water. Perhaps the strange weather patterns will bring some much needed moisture this summer!

I finally bought a TV

2007-06-25T12:06:00.001-07:00

After 3.5+ years of watching TV on a giant silver CRT monstrosity (manufactured by the ever reputable Apex) purchased from my ex-landlady for $20, I decided that I'd had enough of seeing everything behind massive neon blotches and pretending to ignore the extremely loud click-whirr of the barely-functioning built-in DVD player. I hated the idea of spending a lot money on a TV, but it was time to face reality - I watch a lot of movies and follow a ton of shows, and it wouldn't be a ridiculous idea for me to invest in something better. I'd been shopping around for a while and after sifting through various cnet and consumer reviews managed I'd found a reason to disqualify every LCD on the market. Finally I broke down at 2 am Thursday night (Friday morning?), logged onto Amazon, and ordered the Samsung 40" because I think it looks pretty (and it fell close to within my budget range). I got rid of my old non-HD Tivo and replaced it with a DVR from the cable company, so I'm all set except for a DVD player and possibly speakers. Now if only I could figure out what to do with the 150lb broken tv!

Babel vs The Little Black Book

2007-06-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

I watched both of these movies on DVD this weekend, fully expecting Babel to be good and The Little Black Book to be unwatchably bad. I wound up liking them equally (would give them both 2.5/5 stars). I thought Babel was preachy and obvious, recycling the oft used strategy of taking a simple plot and then breaking it up and presenting it in a complex way in efforts to seem more intelligent (see: Traffic, 21 Grams, Syriana). The Little Black Book had a surprisingly strong cast including Holly Hunter, Kathy Bates and Brittany Murphy, with a silly plot that was still entertaining and engaging. The real test is that my boyfriend didn't insist on turning it off, even after I gave him permission to do so because he complained that it was a chick flick. I also watched the Lake House recently but I won't waste precious blog space mentioning this terrible excuse for a film. I'm now running out of things to add to my Netflix queue (which explains the Lake House rental) and need to figure out what I'm going to watch next...

Jury Duty

2007-06-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever I was not totally annoyed to be summoned for jury duty, mainly because work is pretty slow right now, but also because I got assigned to the Hollywood courthouse which is in walking distance of my place and could lead to me getting assigned to a celebrity trial, since they tend to avoid the big downtown location. The way it works here is that you call in every evening and they tell you if you need to report the next day. I wasn't asked to show up today but perhaps tomorrow. Fortunately if they never call me this week I don't need to serve again for at least a year, however they seem to summon me pretty regularly so I can expect to go through this again soon.

Traffic

2007-06-20T17:24:00.001-07:00

I've managed to successfully avoid getting too annoyed by traffic in my years living here, but today I have an appointment during the middle of rush hour in the most gridlocked part of town, and I find myself needing to mentally calm myself before getting in the car for a possible 30-60 minutes of inching. Most people here deal with this on a daily basis and I'm convinced that the reason I seem to love the city more than everyone else is due to my extensive planning and crafty traffic avoidance. I really love the idea of living somewhere where everything is in walking distance or a quick car ride away yet that isn't a giant metropolis. I often fantasize about moving to wine country soon since many of the towns fit that bill. If only I could make a living hanging out on a sunny porch overlooking a vineyard (hmm... who wants to move out here and start an inn / restaurant /cheese shoppe / trinket store??)

The season finale was weeks ago yet I'm still obsessed with Lost

2007-06-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

I find myself constantly checking fan websites for answers, theories or more information about Lost. I almost stopped watching this year when the show went on hiatus for several months but felt as though the writers really stepped it up and absolutely loved the last season (mini season?) The season finale was one of the best episodes of television that I've ever seen. I tend to agree with the higher-dimension time warp theories, probably because I'm reading Hyperspace right now which discusses how these are concepts are generally accepted in the science community. I'd better find a new obsession since the show doesn't come back until February!

Come in, come in!

2006-06-08T15:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog. I started this a year ago but never posted - how time flies when you're busy forgetting that you started a blog! My renewed interest in posting is mostly attributable to a combination of "blog envy" of my friends who've convinced me that they'd find my musings remotely interesting, and my desire to start writing again in some capacity other than email and IM. I'm staying somewhat stealth for right now and am going to avoid posting anything too identifiable so that I can be candid, but that may change. Thanks for reading!